The present invention relates generally to instant messaging systems, and relates more particularly to inferring the read status of messages sent over instant messaging systems.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of an exemplary instant messaging system 100. The instant messaging system 100 allows two or more individuals using different computing devices (e.g., desktop computers, laptop computers, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants and the like) to exchange text messages in real time. Specifically, the instant messaging system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises at least one server 102 hosted by an instant messaging service and at least two user devices 1041-104n (hereinafter collectively referred to as “user devices 104”) communicatively coupled to the server 102. In order to send an instant message 106 from a sender (e.g., user device 104n) to a receiver (e.g., user device 1041), the sender sends the instant message 106 to the server 102, which in turn delivers the instant message 106 to the receiver. The receiver may then respond by sending another instant message (not shown) via the server 102 to the sender. Alternatively, the sender and the receiver may be in direct communication with each other and exchange instant messages without the aid of the server 102.
During an exchange of instant messages, the sender may wish to determine whether the receiver has read an instant message 106 that was sent by the sender. While many commercially available instant messaging systems are capable of sending an acknowledgement 108 to the sender confirming that the instant message 106 has been received by the server 102, or that the receiver is currently typing an instant message, this acknowledgement does not indicate whether the instant message 106 has actually been read. Other instant messaging systems may provide a notification of the online status of the receiver, but this notification does not indicate whether the receiver is physically present to view the instant message 106.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for inferring the read status of instant messages.